


to build a home

by stylesandtommo123



Category: 1D - Fandom, Larry - Fandom, Larry Stylinson - Fandom, One Direction, stylinson - Fandom
Genre: Big Brother, M/M, larry - Freeform, larry smut, larry stylinson - Freeform, larry stylinson smut, stylinson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 19:43:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7697038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylesandtommo123/pseuds/stylesandtommo123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off of the American show Big Brother. Louis and Harry sign up for a good summer, and find their soulmates in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	to build a home

 

Louis never expected to actually get accepted to Big Brother. He just signed up for the hell of it, thought it’d be a good laugh whether he got accepted or not. He’s essentially just rambling stupid shit in his audition video. But he gets a call a few weeks later, saying they’d like him to come in for an interview or two.

 

They ask him basic questions- stuff about his mental health, physical health, etc. He passes with flying colors, and by the end of the interview they’re telling him he’s been accepted onto the show. He’s nervous, of course, he’s gonna be locked in one place for about three months, but he’s excited.

 

He probably packs too many things, but he doesn’t really care. His anxiety goes up by about a thousand percent on the first night. Before they go into the house they stand in front of a live audience with Julie Chen, seeing who gets to go into the house first. He’s terrified. 

 

“Louis, Harry, Jonathan, Nathan, Crystal, Natalie, James, Mia, please enter the Big Brother house,” With one final look at the audience, the only other people he’ll see for three months besides his housemates, he runs into the big brother house with the other thirteen contestants. 

 

He thinks maybe he’s in love with Harry the second he sees him. He looks effortlessly amazing- hair in a messy bun, a loose sweater, and some skinny jeans. He thinks he’s never seen anyone wear something so non-dressy and look so absolutely beautiful. He’s also got an English accent, so he must have moved to America from the UK just like Louis did.

 

“Hi, I’m Louis,” Everyone’s introducing themselves so Louis goes up to Harry first. He expects a handshake, but Harry just goes straight in for a hug. He smells like peaches and Louis wants to die. 

 

“I’m Harry, love, nice to meet you. It doesn’t look like there’s a lot of beds, aren’t there gonna be sixteen of us?” Harry frowns when they walk into one of the bedrooms. 

 

Louis shrugs, setting his bag down on a bed while the other contestants shriek excitedly, “We might have to share.” 

 

“Oh no,” Harry sets his bag down on the same bed, grinning wide, “What a shame. I’m so upset by this news.” 

 

“Fucking cheeky, mate,” Louis pretends to be annoyed, but he’s laughing and he bumps Harry’s hip as they walk out into the living room with their other house mates. 

 

The other 8 contestants walk into the house and then there’s screaming and excited shrieking again. Louis knows first impressions are everything, so he tells his anxiety to fuck off and hugs all of the houseguests. 

 

After a few minutes they’re sat down at a table with champagne, and Louis is slightly tipsy.

 

“Hi, I’m Harry,” Harry introduces himself- he’s shy, and Louis thinks he’s adorable, “I’m 21, I work at a bakery in Oregon. I’m just here for a bit of fun, and I make some mean muffins so just ask away. Oh and I’m gay, obviously.” 

 

They live in the same state. Louis could cry.

 

“But are you single, that’s the real question,” Louis asks, and all of the other houseguests teasingly make an ‘ooh’ sound all at once. 

 

“Yes, I am indeed single,” Harry’s grinning again, and Louis wants to kiss his stupid fucking dimples.

 

When it’s Louis’ turn to speak, he wants to vomit. He doesn’t. 

 

“Hi, I’m Louis. I’m 24, and I’m a drama coach in Oregon. I’m originally from England, though, as I’m sure you’ll all comment because Americans apparently think our accents are fascinating, which is fucking weird. Anyways, I’m here to make some friends and have a great summer. I’m gay as well, obviously,” Louis smiles over at Harry, who’s already staring at him with his stupid fucking dimples out. Louis wants to either kill him or kiss him. He’ll decide later.

 

All the other houseguests introduce themselves and Louis is half-listening, taking in information but also making some wonderful eye contact with Harry. 

 

“I’ve been in the house for a few hours now, and I’m in love already,” Louis says in the diary room later that night, “Harry’s so frickin charming, god I hate his stupid dimples. Maybe I had a bit too much alcohol, but I’m at least 80% sure I’d like to marry Harry immediately. I don’t care if I win the game anymore. I’m screwed.”

 

The houseguests are called to the living room, and everyone is excited. 

 

“Houseguests,” It’s Julie again, and everyone is shrieking, “As you may know, there are going to be a lot of twists and turns in this game. As you also know, the first Big Brother ‘18  ‘Head of Household’ competition is tonight. With that in mind, I have a twist for you all.”

 

The houseguests gasp excitedly, murmuring what they think it could be.

 

“If you are to win the Head of Household competition, you can choose one person to be HOH with you. This means you and one other person will be safe for the week, and get to decide who goes home at the end of it. However, the person who wins the competition will not be able to play in the week after, while your partner can.” 

 

Now everyone is shrieking again, and Louis thinks if they do this every time he’s going to lose his hearing by the end of the week. But he’s excited, he screams along with them. When Julie says goodnight, they’re all talking about how excited they are for the competition. It begins at 8, and suddenly they’re all piling out into the backyard where a forest awaits. 

 

Nicole is explaining the rules, and Louis is listening intently. They have to make it through the forest and bring back 20 balls into their basket. Along the way there are tripping hazards and signs that will randomly pop up, making it harder to cross to the other side.

 

“Good luck, Louis,” Harry smiles from beside him, determination clear in his eyes. 

 

“Good luck,” Louis responds, smiling back just as wide. 

 

He’s not an extremely sporty person, is the thing. He’s short and has little legs, so running has always kind of made him want to die. But he’s springy, and he uses this as an advantage to practically fly through the course. He looks over plenty of times and realize he’s doing so much better than everyone else- Harry’s the only person catching up quicker than everyone else. Which is isn’t too worried about- he was going to pick Harry as his partner anyways. 

 

He thinks about throwing it to Harry so he can play in the next comp, but before he knows it he’s got all his balls in the basket and is slamming down on his buzzer. 

 

“Louis, congratulations! You’re the new head of household,” Julie says over the speakers.  Louis hadn’t even realized he was done already, but then there’s the HOH key around his neck and everyone is screaming and hugging him. 

 

After they’ve all calmed down, Julie’s speaking again.

 

“Louis, who do you pick as your running mate? Keep in mind this person will be with you making half of your decisions for an entire week.” 

 

Louis has no doubt in his mind he wants Harry, but he pretends to think about it for a moment so he doesn’t seem too interested. 

 

“Harry, get your arse up here,” Louis grins, holding out the other HOH key. Everyone’s cheering again and Harry’s by his side, so he thinks that this may be the best day.

 

“Thank you, Lou,” Harry bends down so Louis can put the necklace around his neck, hugging him only for a second.

 

Everyone is sweaty and gross and some people are disappointed they lost, but Louis and Harry are immediately going up to the HOH room with their things.

 

“Thank you for choosing me, that was really nice,” Harry strips from his shirt and trousers, leaving Louis flustered, “Also, I’m really excited because you’re from England as well. Where are you from?” 

 

“Doncaster,” Louis strips down to everything except his boxers, “What about you?”

 

Harry sits on the bed next to Louis, “Bentley, which I’m pretty sure is like ten minutes away from Doncaster. My nan lived there in Donny, I visited all the time. I’m so glad someone else is from England. We both live in Oregon as well, how crazy is that?”

 

“I thought I hated England being so rainy, but then I moved here and realized how bloody hot it is. Oregon is the only place I can stand ‘cause it’s so rainy all the time. Reminds me of home, you know? And Salem is such a quiet little town, you hardly ever hear police sirens every two seconds like I did in Donny.” 

 

“I live in Salem too!” Harry’s excited suddenly, bouncing on the bed like a child about to open gifts, “It’s so lovely, oh my goodness. I work at Blue Box Bakery, have you ever been there?” 

 

Louis nods, “Yeah, a few times, it’s incredible. I wish we would’ve met when we were in Oregon together, honestly.” 

 

“Things happen for a reason,” Harry knocks into Louis’ shoulder with his own, “Mind if I shower first? I’m dying.” 

 

“Yeah, go ahead, love.”

 

As lovely as Harry is, Louis is excited as all hell when he leaves to the bathroom. He lies on the strangely big bed and takes things in for a moment. The house is themed after different countries, and the HOH room is themed after Japan. The wallpaper is black and brown with cherry blossoms on them, and there’s little japanese lights and things hung everywhere. The bed is huge, and has a wooden frame that looks like something they’d have in Japan. 

 

He loves it.

 

After admiring things for a bit, he grabs the letter from his family and lies back down.

 

_ Boobear,  _

 

_ I hope you’re having an amazing time. I miss you so much already, lovely, we all do. I know you came to visit us in England just a few weeks ago, but I’ve been going crazy having you in America. I love you so much, bub, and I hope you’ll come home when you win that $500,000 prize. Have fun, don’t let your anxiety get the best of you. Take your meds and have fun, okay??? I love you!!! _

 

 

  * __Your mummy__



 

 

Louis is crying. He loves his mum so much, he wants to fly out to England and hug her for hours. He’s going to be trapped in this house for months. He’s gone this long without her before when he moved to the states, but he misses her more when he realizes he can’t see her at all. He can’t call, text, FaceTime, anything they usually do. 

 

He feels like a fucking baby, and he thinks maybe he doesn’t have the emotional support he thought he did when he entered the house. 

 

“You alright?” Harry comes back out of the bathroom in just his boxers, sitting down next to the older boy.

 

“I’m sorry, this is really embarrassing,” Louis sniffles, passing the note to Harry, “I miss my mum, how pathetic is that? I’m 24 bloody years old.” 

 

Harry sighs, putting the note aside, “I miss mine too, babe. It’s perfectly fine. Mine lives in Doncaster as well, she’s taking care of my nan right now. I completely understand how it feels to have her be so far.” 

 

“Thank you,” Louis says quietly, wiping his eyes, “God, I’ve only been in here for a few hours and I’m already crying.”

 

They laugh together, getting under the covers and staring at each other for a minute.

 

“I think this is gonna be a good summer,” Louis whispers, as it’s quite late and he’s sleepy. They’re both smiling, and Louis wants to reach out and touch but he doesn;t.

 

“Yeah, Lou,” Harry pushes a hair out of Louis’ eyes,  closing his own,“I think it will be.” 

 

-

 

When Louis wakes up, everything’s loud. He’s up later than everyone else, and it’s only 8am. He puts on some pants but decides to stay shirtless, slowly trudging down the stairs while still rubbing at his sleepy eyes.

 

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Harry’s shirtless as well, making pancakes, “Or maybe sleeping not-so-beauty, Mr. bedhead.” 

 

“Ha, very funny,” Louis sticks his tongue out, tickling Harry’s hips on the way to the sink. 

 

Harry finishes up the last of the pancakes, setting them all on plates, “Everyone, if you want pancakes come get some!” He shouts over the chaos of people talking and making friends, everyone collectively walking into the kitchen. 

 

Harry hands Louis a plate, “You said blueberry pancakes are your favorite, right? I couldn’t remember.” 

 

“I want to kiss you so fucking bad right now,” Louis’ mouth is literally watering, so he takes the plate and kisses Harry’s cheeks loudly as a thanks. 

 

“Oooh, we have a showmance already!” Natalie squeals from the table, and Louis just sticks his tongue out at her. 

 

He quite likes Natalie, as well as Noah and Nathan. Those are the only people he’s really spoken to for a while, and he thinks maybe he’d like to form an alliance with them later on. 

 

He sits next to Harry at the dining table, their knees touching as their chairs are close together. 

 

“How are you doing so far?” Harry looks over and smiles, and Louis thinks maybe he’d like to marry this boy, “I feel like I’m gonna go crazy. I don't do well under pressure.” 

 

“Same, yeah. To think that we have to be here following certain rules for three whole months is scary, like we can’t escape or we give up 500,000 dollars.”

 

Harry nods, “Yeah, I know. What do you think you’ll spend the money on if you win?” 

 

“Well one of my students, Darcy, is a kid in foster care. She’s always telling me about how shit the adoption center she lives in is- they don’t have the money for enough beds so some sleep on the floor, sometimes they don’t get to eat. I think I’d like to give them a portion of it so they can do better, you know? They’re so run-down and she’s got so much potential, I don’t want to see her or any of them living like that. And some of it I’d like to give to my mum, she’s got cancer and can barely pay for her medicine because she’s got four other kids.” 

 

Harry watches intently, watches Louis’ hand movements and facial expressions with a smile because Louis’ story is so heartwarming he could cry.

 

“Sorry, I’m ranting, you’re probably bored,” Louis goes back to eating, shaking his head at himself.

 

“No, I really love listening to you, okay? I find it so amazing that you’re willing to give so much away and have so little for yourself, that’s amazing, Lou. You’re such a pure person. I’m so sorry your mum has cancer, that’s got to be heartbreaking to be away from her for so long.” 

 

Louis nods, “Yeah, but it’s cool. I moved down here because of the amazing job opportunity, and something happened in Donny so I just couldn’t stay any more. I visit as much as I can, though, and I’ve been trying to save money so they can come visit me and experience America.” 

 

“You have such a beautiful soul…” Harry can’t stop himself from giving Louis a wide-eyed look, fish-mouthing as he tries to come up with the rights words, “God, I just… You’re so pure, you give everything to everyone even if it leaves you with nothing.  Holy shit.” 

 

Harry realizes other houseguests are in the room, but he can’t bring himself to focus on anything but Louis.

 

“Thank you, Harry,” Louis’ smile is bashful, and he looks down as he finishes his food, “These are amazing, by the way. Thank you for making food for everyone.” 

 

“Of course. I like to brag about my cooking skills,” Harry laughs, taking Louis’ plate for him, setting them in the sink. 

 

He gets started on dishes, and Louis stands beside him to dry them, “Proper housewife, aren’t you? Breakfast, doing the dishes, cleaning, all the lot. Might have to snag you for myself, I’m proper bad at all of those things.” 

 

“Don’t think I’d mind if you did,” Harry gives Louis a bright smile, and he’s beginning to realize how much he’s actually smiling around Louis. He doesn’t think he’s ever been so happy that he felt the need to smile every second. 

 

They do the dishes together, even though Louis gives up halfway through as he keeps blowing the soapy bubbles at Harry’s face and distracting him. He’s in love.

 

Later, they get in the hot tub together to discuss strategies. It’s just them, as all the other houseguests are playing some stupid water pong game as they don’t have beer.  They climb in together in just their swimming shorts, and Louis’ are very small and don’t leave much to the imagination. 

 

“So, who do you think we should put up? Nominations are in two days,” Harry asks first, scooting closer to Louis. 

 

“Victor has the be the first one we think about,” Louis says without hesitation, “God, he creeps me out. He’s been grabbing my bum and making loads of sexual comments, and he’s just all-around a loud person and someone I don’t want to be in the house with. Did you have someone in mind?”

 

Harry shakes his head, “No, not really. I’ve hear a few people talk about Victor negatively, so if we put someone up as a pawn I’m sure he’ll go home. He really is a creep, but please don’t put up with it. If it makes you legitimately uncomfortable I’ll talk to him.” 

 

“I just…” Louis pauses, pursing his lips tightly, “I just don’t have a great experience with sexual people. I don’t open up to almost anyone about this, but I’ve been a victim of sexual assault in my life so having him just walk around and grope me does make me a bit uncomfortable, but I think I’ll be fine. I’ve been avoiding him, but that’s why I want him to go so soon, he reminds me of exactly the reason I left Doncaster.”

 

“I’m really sorry, Lou, wow. Thank you for telling me that, we’ll get him out immediately.”

 

Then Louis’ got an arm around his shoulders and lips on his temple, so he thinks maybe he’ll be fine for a while. 

 

“For what it’s worth, you’re an amazing person. I know that experience was probably really bad for you, but it made you who you are today. How old were you?” 

 

“18,” Louis wants to vomit, he’s never really openly discussed this with anyone besides his mother, “My step-dad was… A disgusting drunk. Always trying to hit me, or be around me in some way. He groped me constantly, I should have brought it up to my mum but I felt so threatened that I just didn’t. When he finally actually tried to rape me, that was it for me. A day later I told my mum and she ended it. I made sure the guy was in jail and then I moved to Oregon. He made me so fucking sick every single day that I had to leave the country, how pathetic is that?”

 

Louis isn’t really breathing but Harry’s close, so he’s slowly coming down. 

 

“I’m sorry, I’ve never talked to anyone about that besides my mum,” Louis shakes his head, “I’m really stupid, I don’t know why I keep rambling around you.” 

 

“That’s okay,” Harry lets Louis rest his head on his shoulder, intertwining their fingers, “I’m glad you’re comfortable around me. Thank you for telling me about this, I know it’s probably hard to talk about considering it wasn’t that long ago. He’s in jail and you’re on national television, so that’s a big ‘fuck you’ to him.”

 

Louis nods, and they sit in comfortable silence for a bit as they watch the bubbles rise and fall around them. 

 

“Quite like you,” Louis says quietly, looking at how much bigger Harry’s hands are than his, “I told myself I’d focus on just me, I wouldn’t get involved with any stupid showmances because they never work out. But I’d quite like to be final two with you, and I’ve only known you for a day or two now.”

 

“Yeah, me too. You’re quite lovely.” 

 

They become quite domestic. Throughout the week Louis takes a liking to one of Harry’s jumpers as it’s gigantic on him and smells amazing, so he wears it around the house. They sleep practically cuddled, always showing affection and joking with each other even when they’re around the other houseguests. 

 

Harry’s taken quite a liking to pranking Louis. One night he did the typical prank- putting whipped cream on Louis’ hand and tickling his nose. It worked, but Louis wasn’t too upset because he got whipped cream out of it. That morning Louis was the first one awake singing to himself in the kitchen, so Harry took it upon himself to jump up behind Louis and make him scream bloody murder. Louis thinks he’d like to murder Harry, but he’d also quite like to marry him. 

 

When it comes to the nomination ceremony, Louis is nervous. It’s the first one, so there could be blood on his hands. But loads of people hate Victor, and Noah volunteered to be a pawn as everyone likes him. 

 

“It’s time for the nomination ceremony. When Harry and I turn the key two faces will appear, and those two people will be on the block until they have a chance to vie for the power of veto.” 

 

Louis takes a deep breath, and smiles at Harry when their hands touch whilst turning the key.

 

“Victor, Noah, we’ve decided to put you up for eviction,” Harry begins speaking, so Louis doesn’t ramble, “It’s nothing against you personally, I just feel like you both are a threat to our games as you’re good players. This concludes the nomination ceremony.” 

 

Victor’s angry, rolling his eyes and leaving the room. Harry apologizes to Noah, but all’s forgiven because they all know Victor’s going home should everything go to plan. 

 

“You and Harry are adorable,” Louis is sitting in the living room with Natalie’s head on his lap- they’ve become really close friends and they have no limits, as they’re not even remotely interested in one another, “Do you think it’s more than just a showmance, something you’d take out of the house?”

 

“Yeah,” Louis doesn’t take long to think about his answer, “At least I do, I hope he feels the same way. I’ve already told him things I haven’t even told my best friends in the real world, I just trust him so much. He makes me so happy, happier than I am even when I’m not in this house. We live in the same city, I’m sure we’ll discuss having a real thing outside the house. I like him so much.” 

 

“That’s fucking adorable,” Natalie whines, “I want someone like that. You guys need to get married.” 

 

Louis grins at the thought, “We’ve known each other for seven days days, Natalie. But if we do, you can be my bridesmaid.” 

 

Eviction night comes too soon. Louis is freaking the hell out. Harry won the veto competition so the nominees remained the same, which means if Victor doesn’t get eliminated he’s fucked.

 

“What if his friends hate me? He’s got one or two people who will vote to keep him, what if the house turns on me? Harry, I can’t deal with confrontation… We’re gonna have to be on live television tonight, without any editing or anything. I’m going to fuck everything up, oh my god.” 

 

“Babe,  _ please _ ,” Harry sighs, grabbing Louis’ hand. He’s sitting on the bed in the HOH room while Louis paces frantically, finally stopping when Harry grabs his hand, “It’s gonna be fine, lovely, okay? I’ve got your back. So many people want him gone, we’ve got this in the bag.”

 

Louis sits down, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m probably getting anxious over nothing.” 

 

“We’ve got five minutes until we’ve got to be down there,” Harry grins wide, and Louis just whines..

 

“As much as I would love to do whatever you have in mind, I’m sure it won’t help my nerves any to have America see me turned on. Not flattering.” 

 

Despite his brain telling him he should snog Harry, he hangs their HOH robes on a hook on the door, basically doing anything he can to not make eye contact with Harry. 

 

“Pretty sure I can think of a few ways to calm your nerves,” Suddenly Harry’s there, so close he’s whispering in his ear. Before Louis can make any sort of protest there’s lips on his neck, and he’s going slack against the door, “I think you were wrong, weren’t you?” 

 

“Just a bit…” Louis pushes back, making a noise of displeasure when Harry sinks his teeth into the flesh of his neck. But it’s soon replaced with cool air, and more kisses being placed around it. 

 

He was dead wrong. This is definitely helping his nerves more than anything else could have, Harry whispering against the shell of his ear and kissing his neck should be sexual. He’d like to rip Harry’s clothes off, but he’s whispering sweet things and it’s making Louis feel calm, which is exactly what he didn’t even know he needed. 

 

“Think you know me better than I know myself, if I’m honest,” Louis laughs, but it’s breathily as he intertwines their fingers over his stomach. 

 

“I know I do,” Harry sneaks his free hand under Louis’ shirt, gently scratching up and down his belly, “I’ve known you for about seven days and I know what you like, I’ve figured you out before you could even figure yourself out. I’m here for you, alright? Don’t ever think you’ve got to keep things from me, because most of the time I know you’re upset without even asking.”

 

“Like you protecting me. I know it might be different when we’re not HOH’s together, we’d have the risk of going up on the block, but I think we’ll be okay, we’ve got each other’s backs.”

 

Louis would like to say more, but they’re being called into the living room for evictions. They intertwine their fingers, sitting the closest they can to each other on the couch. 

 

“One at a time, you will enter the diary room and reveal your votes,” Julie tells them, “The two nominees are not allowed to vote. Louis and Harry, one of you will vote only in the event of a tiebreaker. Natalie, you’re up first.” 

 

People go in and out of the DR quickly, and Louis is feeling more and more confident as they get down to the last few that Victor’s going home.

 

“With a vote of 10-2, Victor, you are eliminated from the Big Brother house.” 

 

Louis could not be any happier, he squeezes Harry’s hand but acts remorseful like the rest of the house. Victor hugs everyone except Louis and Harry, flipping Louis off on his way out the door. Louis feels safe as soon as Victor is out the door, going straight into Harry’s welcoming arms for a hug that makes his heart feel warm.

 

They stand in front of the Face Board and watch Victor’s picture go to black and white, grinning widely while the other houseguests murmur goodbyes. 

 

As soon as they get to the HOH room, they’re shrieking and jumping together like teenage girls.

 

“I feel so much better now without him here,” Louis flops down on the bed, not complaining when Harry climbs on top of him, “He smelled bad anyways.”

 

“Mmhmm,” Harry hums, clearly only half-listening as he resumes to kissing up Louis’ neck, “You look pretty with purple on your neck. Wish I could mark you everywhere. It’d be a bit embarrassing, though, wouldn’t it? Just letting me brag to the other houseguests that they can’t have you. “

 

Louis raises his eyebrows, “Who says they can’t have me?”

 

Harry raises his eyebrows back, grinding down to prove his point, “Because you’re not even interested in them, Louis, it’s written all over your face.” 

 

“True,” Louis doesn’t make an effort to move, “Got the HOH comp in an hour.” 

 

“Do you know how much can be achieved in an hour?” Harry’s smirk and the intentions behind it are dirty, but instead he rolls off and snuggles into Louis, “A backrub for you, a nice relaxing talk. Because I respect you and your past, so you probably don’t want to have sex with someone you’ve known for a week. So instead, I’ll just rub your back because you look tense.” 

 

“Marry me, please,” Louis groans happily when Harry rolls him onto his back, straddling his hips, “Soon as we leave this house, shit’s going down. Don’t even think about going for anyone else, I’m gonna date the fuck out of you.” 

 

“Okay,” Harry laughs, working his hands into Louis’ shoulders.

 

Louis didn’t know he needed a massage. However, the second Harry’s giant hands are rubbing his shoulders he’s completely pliant and feeling like he could sleep.

 

“Win this HOH, yeah? We’ll be the dream team,” Louis mumbles, clearly falling asleep.

 

“Yeah, love,” Harry kisses between Louis’ shoulderblades, still rubbing at a knotted spot in his back, “Go to sleep, you need to be energized for this competition so you can cheer me on.” 

 

Louis hums in agreeance, and it takes less than a minute for him to be snoring softly. Harry doesn’t stop rubbing his back for a long time, only stopping after about twenty minutes so he can go take a shower. When he returns he doesn’t sleep, he’s too energized, so instead he runs his hands through Louis’ hair until it’s time to wake up so they can prepare.

 

“Thanks for letting me nap, I didn’t sleep well last night,” Louis yawns, and he wishes he could get back under the covers but instead he grabs the clothes Big Brother set out for them and gets dressed.

 

“I know,” Harry gets dressed as well, squeezing Louis’ hand, “It’ll be fine. Even if we don’t win this, we’re not on anyone’s radar. We just got out the only target so far, no one wants us out yet. Everything will be okay.” 

 

They make their way downstairs feeling refreshed and energized, yelling excitedly with all the other houseguests as they make their way into the yard. It’s a football-style competition, and Louis is grateful he’s not playing because he hates American football. He doesn’t really listen to the rules as he repeats them to the other houseguests, but he’s cheering Harry on as soon as the game starts. 

 

Harry, being the clumsy little human that he is, trips over his own feet and is the sixth houseguest eliminated. Louis welcomes him with open arms, laughing only a bit.

 

“Just like a baby bambi,” Louis giggles quietly, kissing Harry on the forehead, “It’s okay, babe, you tried. We’ll be okay.”

 

They watch the other houseguests battle it out together, anxiously hoping it’s one of their friends. The only people Louis doesn’t want to win is James and Jason, as they’ve been quiet the whole game and Louis doesn’t know what they’re plotting. Noah wins, in the end, and Louis is grateful because he knows Noah appreciates him keeping him safe at the previous eviction. 

 

He’s sad to move his things out of the HOH room, but he’s still in a big bed and he’s still with Harry so he’s happy either way.

 

“Oh no, whatever shall we do since the houseguests are playing a game in the living room?” Harry sighs dramatically, hopping into the bed, “Oh my god, we’re in a room all by ourselves, I’m so absolutely disappointed.”

 

“Shut up, you cheeky bugger,” Louis laughs, climbing in beside him, “Seriously, I’m proud of you though. You tried hard today.” 

 

Harry pulls the blanket over them and closes his eyes, “It sucks that we’re not HOH, but I’m glad Noah won. We should be okay.” 

 

“I miss my mum,” Louis admits, fiddling with the rings on Harry’s fingers, “It sucks to know that she’s probably in pain right now, I just want to win this game already so I can help her.” 

 

“I know, love, you’ll see her soon. But not too soon, okay? If you get evicted all hell will be raised. You’ll get to see her when you bring her $500,000.”

 

Louis thinks in the back of his mind they should be more social, go play games with the other houseguests, but when Harry snuggles closer he thinks maybe he’d never like to move again. The week begins normally- Louis and Harry go up and talk to Noah, who reveals that James and Jason are going up so they’re safe. 

 

They spend a lot of the week just floating along, making sure to be social with other people but also sleeping in the same bed every night. They haven’t gotten sick of each other yet, and Louis is extremely grateful he gets to fall asleep and wake up next to someone as wonderful as Harry.

 

“Lou,” They’re sitting in their bed after the nomination ceremony, limbs entangled to the point where they can’t even tell whose limb is whose anymore.

 

“Mmhmm,” Louis mumbles, half-asleep as Harry rubs his back. 

 

Harry chuckles a little as Louis’ sleepiness, continuing his rubbing, “Will you be my boyfriend?” He pauses for a moment make sure Louis is looking at him, “I really like you, Lou, I wanna see you outside the house. Everyday's an adventure with you. Will you do me the honors of having an official showmance with me?”

 

“Of course, you fucking dimwit,” Louis is grinning wide, looking up at Harry with love in his eyes. 

 

They haven’t kissed yet, in the two weeks of living in the house. So when their lips press together, Louis is amazed by how they fit together perfectly, like they’ve been kissing for centuries. Their tongues slide together easily, and Louis wants to stay here forever. It doesn’t lead to anything sexual, just about twenty minutes of kissing. Louis feels the happiest he’s ever been.

 

“I promise I’ll do whatever is in my reach to keep you safe,” Harry whispers as Louis is drifting off again, “We’re gonna win this thing, baby.” 

 

Louis hums in agreeance, eyes  slowly closing as Harry’s fingers are gently carding through his hair.

 

“Even if you win and I get evicted soon, it’s okay. We’ll meet in Oregon, I think no matter what happens we’ll meet again.”

 

“Don’t get evicted, okay? Louis says softly, kissing Harry’s cheek, “Need you here.” 

 

He’s asleep before he hears what Harry’s response is, snoring lightly and dreaming about bright green eyes and soft curls. 

 

The week goes as planned. Jason gets evicted, which Louis doesn’t mind because they never got a chance to talk game. He pretends to be remorseful with the rest of the house when they watch his picture fade to black and white, holding Harry’s hand tightly.

 

“Ready to fuck shit up?” Louis grins at Harry- they’re getting dressed for the competition. Harry kisses him instead of responding with words, cupping his face tightly.

 

“So ready. We’re gonna win this one,” They share a couple more kisses, before they head out to the backyard to see the competition. It’s a mental competition, which Harry  is quite good at- they see a number of images in front of them, and they have to answer true or false questions about them.

 

He knows Louis isn’t good at remembering a lot of things, so he knows Louis will have to rely on him for this one.  As expected, Louis gets eliminated five questions in. There’s only three people left- Natalie, James, and Harry. If James win Louis thinks maybe he’ll go up, because they had a small fight in the bathroom about how mouthy Louis is. Louis knows James doesn’t like him, so he cheers Harry on loudly.

 

Harry gets eliminated, along with Natalie. Louis’ only  fear has come true. James is the only person that doesn’t like Louis, and he’s made that clear throughout the weeks. They’ve had disagreements here and there, but James was throwing homophobic slurs at Louis and complaining about how loud and bitchy he is, so Louis can almost guarantee he’ll go up with someone else as a pawn. 

 

Louis doesn’t talk to Harry after the competition. He’s not mad, he’s proud of how far in the competition Harry got and he really likes him, but he just buries himself under the covers so he can think for a bit. He knows he’s going home this week, and he’s fucked. It takes about two seconds for him to be bawling under the covers, realizing that he’s leaving the house and he’s gonna have to tell his mum that he failed, that he can’t pay for her medical bills like he wanted to. He wants to die. Harry’s talking to the other housemates, probably kissing James’ ass, but he eventually finds Louis. 

 

“Hey, babe,” Harry climbs under the covers, knowing Louis is crying before he even sees him, “It’s okay, lovely,  we’re gonna be fine. I’m sure he doesn’t dislike you that much.” 

 

“I’m fucking going home,” Louis turns so he’s on his back, realizing he’s probably an ugly crier but honestly not caring in the moment. 

 

“You’re gonna be okay,” Harry promises, running his hands through Louis’ hair, “We’re both gonna be okay.  If he does put you up one of us will win the veto, and next time we’re HOH his ass is going fucking down. You won’t go home, okay? I promise, I’ll do everything I can do in my power to keep you in this house with me.” 

 

Louis nods, hiccuping and sniffling like a four year old, “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I lost it. I just got really panicky.” 

 

“I know, bub,” Harry kisses his forehead, sighing, “I know. It’s okay, we’re gonna be okay. As scary as this is, we can get the votes on our side.” 

 

Louis thinks maybe everything will be okay. They don’t leave the room for the rest of the day, just stay cuddled together and talk about what they’re gonna do together when they get out of the house.

 

The nominations come too soon.  Louis knows he’s going up, is the thing, so it’s making him anxious. 

 

“This is the nomination ceremony,” Louis wants to cry as James speaks, “As HOH, I have to nominate two people for eviction. When I turn the key, two faces will appear on the screen and those house guests will be the nominee.”

 

When Louis begins thinking about the fact that he doesn’t know who he’s going up against, it’s already too late. James put him up with Harry. 

 

“This nomination ceremony is adjourned.” 

 

Louis is kind of in shock, but then again he realizes that he shouldn’t have expected anything less.

 

“That’s a low fucking blow, James, you know that?” Louis isn’t even upset anymore, he’s fucking pissed. He doesn’t really feel like crying anymore, he feels like punching James in his stupid ugly face. 

 

“It’s a game, Louis. You’re my target, suck it up and pack your bags.” 

 

James walks up to his HOH room like he’s better than everyone else, leaving Harry and Louis the only ones at the table. 

 

“I knew I was going up,” Louis looks at the table, still kind of fish-mouthing in disbelief, “I fucking knew it, but I didn’t even consider who I’d be going up against. At least one, if not both, of us are still going to be on the block come Thursday, Harry.” 

 

As much as Harry would like to just cry, he gets out of his chair at the same time as Louis and hugs him as tight as he can. There’s people in the bedrooms so they go to the storage room, shutting the door behind them. 

 

“This fucking sucks, you know that?” Louis wipes his eyes, but it does no good as his eyes just leak more when Harry hugs him once again. They’re both crying,and Louis kind of wants to die, “You’re my best friend in this house, Harry, maybe even just in my life in general. You’re the best thing in my life, and the thought of you not being in this house or vice versa makes me want to shoot myself in the foot.”

 

“I know,” Harry agrees, “But I think we’re gonna be fine, okay? We’re gonna win the Veto, and then the next HOH we win his ass is fucking going down.” 

 

“Promise me if you get evicted first you won’t find someone outside of the house. Wait for me, okay?”

 

Harry nods, “I promise. You have to promise me the same thing if you go. You’re it for me, Lou,  I don’t want anyone else so long as you’ll have me too.” 

 

They murmur quietly to themselves before getting everything together, going out and socializing with the other houseguests together.  They do a lot of ass kissing over the next few days as there’s six people playing in the veto, and they have two  people saying they’ll take one if them down if they win the veto. 

 

The Veto picking goes amazingly. Natalie, Corey and Noah get picked- all allies of either Harry or Louis. The only person who wouldn’t use the veto is James, who’s playing as well. Louis is nervous.

 

The veto competition is hard, they have to put together a puzzle using grappling hooks to lift themselves up a wall with puzzle pieces in their hand. They don’t know who wins until everyone is done and they get to see whose time is the best, so Louis is literally a shaky mess by the time the last person is done.

 

“Congratulations, Louis, you are the winner of the Power of Veto!” Julie says over the speaker, and the first person he rushes to is Harry. They’re hugging, and Louis can hear James sigh in the background. 

 

James still might get what he wants, though, as Louis already knows he’s taking Harry down.  When they’re all called to the living room to reveal the use of the veto, Harry grips Louis’ hand tight.

 

“As I have won the veto competition, I have the power to pull either myself or Harry down,” Louis pauses, looking down at Harry with a smile, “I have decided to use the power of veto on Harry.” 

 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Harry hisses quietly, but stands up anyways. 

 

He doesn’t get the chance to protest before Louis is speaking again, “James, as I have just taken one of your nominees down, you must put up another.” 

 

He sits back down in the chair while Harry sits on the couch staring at him in shock.

 

“I have decided to put up Sam as Harry’s replacement nominee,” James says, and Louis squeezes Sam’s hand as soon as he’s sat down in the chair. It’s clear Sam is a pawn, but Louis thinks maybe with some luck he’ll be more than that.”

 

He’s hoping to avoid Harry after the ceremony as he knows he’s going to be angry, but Harry finds him in the kitchen not even five minutes later.

 

“You said you were taking yourself down,” Harry says calmly, though his eyes are saying he’s probably not calm, “You fucking promised me, Louis, you said you would take yourself down so that if I went home you still had a shot!” 

 

“Stop yelling, please,” Louis says softly, and Harry automatically complies to his request.

 

A few house guests have turned to see what the yelling was about, and it’s clear they’re going to continue looking until Louis responds with something else. They’re nosy.

 

“I know I promised, Harry, but seeing you up there was heartbreaking. I’ll risk going home so long as you stay in the game.” 

 

“Almost everything I’ve done in this game has been to protect you, Louis. We had a plan. Why would you break that, Lou? I  _ told _ you I would go home for you, and you said you’d take yourself down so you could win this thing just like we planned.” 

 

Louis looks down at his feet, shuffling them and wiping his eyes, “i know.” 

 

“Please don’t cry, baby, Jesus,” Harry sighs, going in to hug Louis as all his anger fades away, “I’m not angry with you, I’m sorry love. I should’ve handled that better.”

 

“I told myself coming into this game I wouldn’t be emotional, I wouldn’t get involved in stupid showmances,” Louis hiccups, laughing humorlessly “Yet here I am doing both of those things because of some curly-haired idiot who has stupid puns.” 

 

Harry laughs quietly, “I know, I did the same. We’re gonna be okay, Lou, neither of us are going home.” 

 

Louis’ calm after a few minutes, just like he always is with Harry. They go back to bantering and cooking dinner, and if Louis makes sure there’s a hair in James’ food no one has to know. Eviction night comes and Louis is feeling panicky, but he knows he’d feel worse if he had to see Harry up instead of him. They’re gripping each other’s hands tightly as the first person walks into the Diary Room, talking calm breaths and whispering quietly to each other.

 

“If you go home, you’re the best thing that’s happened to me and I’ll see you outside of this house,” Louis rushes to say as the last person enters the diary room. 

 

Harry agrees, and everyone goes quiet as Julie begins speaking, “With a vote of 6-5. Louis,” Louis wants to burst into tears right there, but Julie continues speaking, “Louis, you are safe. Sam, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house.” 

 

Julie fucking pranked him. He doesn’t know how to respond, everyone else is hugging Sam goodbye but Louis goes straight for Harry.

 

“Oh my fucking god,” Louis is sobbing, hugging Harry so tight he thinks he might break a few ribs.

 

“Oh my fucking god,” Harry repeats, laughing a little but hugging him back just as tight. They say goodbye to Sam, but as soon as he’s gone they resume to crying together.

 

They stay in the living room as everyone else left, foreheads pressed together while Louis’ sniffles reside.

 

“His ass is going down,” Louis promises, kissing Harry on the chin as he’s too short to reach anything else, “Shit’s going down at the HOH competition, I promise you. We’re gonna win.” 

 

“We’re gonna win, baby, we are,” Louis will never get sick of Harry calling him baby, so this time is no exception. 

 

They have an hour to prepare for the competition and they should be spending it taking showers, but instead they sit on the bed and talk about how lucky they are. Louis is in love. 

 

As soon as Louis steps into the yard, he knows he’s going to win the competition. It’s a soccer competition, which is pretty much the native sport in England. He played beginning in primary school all the way up into college. He was offered a spot on a national league, but he denied it as he had to get out of England as soon as possible. 

 

Him and Harry share the same look of excitement, knowing before it even begins Louis has the HOH key around his neck already. You have to get the ball down the field while a glass of water is placed on top of your head- all the housemates groan except Louis, because he knows that he had to do this exact thing for practice in Uni so he’s done it a million times.

 

It comes down to Louis and Harry. Louis knows he could win, but he’s already won an HOH competition and he wants to play in next week’s anyways. 

 

“Want it?” Louis mouths at Harry, and the boy nods excitedly with a plea in his eyes. 

 

“I’ve got you, baby,” Harry promises, and Louis doesn’t think twice before purposefully letting the cup fall off of his head.

 

Then everyone except James is cheering, and as per usual Louis and Harry go right into each other’s arms. 

 

“Congratulations, Harry, you are the new Head of Household,” Julie tells them, “Do I really even need to ask who your running mate will be?” 

 

The housemates collectively laugh, and Harry doesn’t give himself a millisecond to think before he’s placing the second key around Louis’ neck. 

 

“Congrats, babe, you earned it,” Louis kisses Harry’s cheek, and they all pile inside together as the other housemates congratulate Harry. 

 

They head right to their HOH room, taking in the familiar smell of the candles in the room. 

 

“I can’t believe you threw the  _ football _ competition to me. That was like, your time to shine,” Harry laughs, still exhausted as he strips naked and wraps a towel around himself. 

 

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear someone else call it football instead of soccer,” Louis hums, intertwining their fingers, “Can I shower with you?”

 

“If I ever say no to that question, literally kill me. Just stab me right in my face.” 

 

They’re both laughing as they get into the bath together, a happy atmosphere setting in around them. They’ve known each other for about a month now and they’re sitting silently in a bath- it should be awkward silence, but Louis is happy to lean against Harry’s chest in silence. It’s a gigantic wooden bath that could probably fit about five people, and it makes Louis feel so comfortable he feels like he could sleep.

 

“Don’t fall asleep yet,” Harry whispers, “We have to get out still, then I wanna give you a massage. Your shoulders are really tense.” 

 

“I’m not even joking, we’re getting married as soon as we leave this house,” Louis giggles, but Harry just intertwines their fingers and whispers a quiet ‘okay’. 

 

They get out eventually, getting into nothing but their HOH robes and climbing into the bed together. Louis’ gotten used to the feeling of Harry’s massages, and they put him to sleep every time. This time is no exception, as Harry starts at his neck and massages all the way down to his toes until Louis is pliant and his eyes are dropping. 

 

“Really lucky to have you, Hazza,” Louis says softly, and Harry gently climbs under the covers with him. 

 

As Louis and Harry are safe for the week they spend most of their time socializing with other people instead of with each other. There’s not a constant need to always be around each other, but more that if they happen to bump into each other during the day they share a few kisses. 

 

“He’s definitely my soulmate,” Louis says in the DR one day, “We’re from the same country, we moved into the same town. We like all the same music, movies, TV shows, God, I just… If this isn’t love I give up on life. We’re definitely already planning to move in together as soon as we’re out of the Big Brother house, and I’m gonna take him to see my mum. He’s definitely someone I’m keeping around for a while.”

 

The houseguests have gotten in a habit of Harry making dinner. As he’s worked in restaurants and currently works in a bakery he’s the best chef in the house, so no one is disappointed when Harry tries some weird recipe. This is also good for Louis as he’s got an amazing boyfriend that brings him breakfast in bed.

 

Louis and Harry have their first real fight the day before the nomination ceremony. Louis has a few flaws- he’s messy, he talks loudly, and he curses too much. This has never been a problem for Harry, until one day he snaps and suddenly everything is his biggest pet peeve. He’d already been a bit on-edge and emotional when he’d read a note from his mum so he was feeling a bit mentally ill.

 

“Lou,” Harry takes a deep breath, trying to keep calm, “I’m going to ask you one more time. Please pick up your clothes and put them in the hamper instead of on the floor. There’s no reason to be this untidy.” 

 

“Oh my god, Harry, it’s a sock,” Louis laughs- he’s used to this banter, Harry complains all the time but they usually end up laughing it off and Louis always ends up picking up the thing Harry asked him to. 

 

“It’s not a fucking sock, Louis!” Harry snaps, his voice suddenly a lot less calm, “It’s  _ you _ . It’s you leaving messes everywhere that I have to clean them up. And when you know I’m tired in the morning, but yelling in my ear until I wake up is fucking hilarious to you! And you smother me, Louis, so much. I like you a lot, you know that, but you get jealous over the stupidest goddamn things and I have to pry you away to even get time with the other house guests. It’s going to get us evicted, Louis, we can’t just focus on this dumb showmance. We have $500,000 to win, here, and it won’t be won together. Only one of us can win, and we probably won’t even make it to that point ‘cause we’re gonna be fucking gone in the next few weeks.” 

 

Harry doesn’t breathe throughout his entire rant, so it leaves him panting and shaking. He doesn’t think he’s ever yelled this loud in his life, and he never would’ve imagined doing it to Louis, especially while there were probably other houseguests listening. 

 

“I…” Louis takes a moment to process Harry’s words and regain his hearing, “Okay, I understand. If this showmance is so dumb to you, you won’t have to worry about it anymore. Enjoy playing the game by yourself, you selfish prick.” 

 

Harry doesn’t know why he yelled. He thinks maybe he’s going crazy, having been in the house for as long as he has been, but the look of utter defeat when Louis walks out makes him regret ever opening his mouth. He doesn’t chase after Louis- he knows he’s probably going to the HOH room to cry, and he’ll just get angry if Harry tries to apologize so soon. Harry goes straight to the DR, ignoring worried looks of other houseguests. 

 

“I’m just gonna sit in here for a bit,” Harry tells the cameras as if they’re listening, changing the sign on the door to ‘occupied’. 

 

He takes his time to take some deep breaths- he lies on the couch and looks up at the ceiling, regaining his sanity and getting himself prepared to face Louis. 

 

“Do you need a counselor, Harry? Or do you need to be removed?” A crew member buzzes in through the intercom that only people in the DR can hear.

 

“I’m okay, thank you. Just needed a quiet place,” He responds, finally standing up. 

 

He’s been in there for at least three hours, and he knows Louis is probably worried because the only time people are in there for that long is when they’re removed from the game. He takes another deep breath before heading back into the house, going straight to the HOH room where he knows Louis will probably be upset still. 

 

“Hey, babe,” Harry closes the door behind him, seeing Louis lying on his back on the bed. He joins him, a little afraid because Louis isn’t even bothering to say anything.

 

“Where did you go? Everyone thought you got removed from the game, Harry, I cried for three hours,” Harry suddenly feels a lot more guilty, sighing and wiping underneath Louis’ eyes with his thumbs.

 

“I did go to the DR, and for a minute I thought about just walking out. I lost my shit today and it wasn’t okay, you know? I just went a little crazy, and I’m sorry that you’re the first person I targeted. This isn’t just a dumb showmance, you’re everything to me and you know I hope you win instead of me. I’m not going to compete with you, I just wanna make it to final two so I know you will win for sure. I’m sorry I got as angry as I did, baby, and I know you probably want some time.” 

 

Louis shakes his head, resting his head on Harry’s chest, “Don’t want any more time, being alone was horrible. I was terrified when I thought you were gonna leave me, Harry, and seeing you angry is the worst thing I’ve ever seen. You know how I’ve been with abuse in my life, Harry, and seeing that angry side of you is something I never want to see again, okay? We can talk things out, but in the future that shit doesn’t fly with me. You know how scared I am. We can talk like adults.” 

 

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Harry nods, sighing and holding the smaller boy tight, “Let’s just forget today ever happened, Lou, okay? I’m sorry. We can just go to bed, and I’ll feel a lot better when I wake up.” 

 

They both agree to go to sleep, and even though Louis is on his own side of the bed falling asleep, when they wake up they’re cuddled together once again. Even unconscious they find their way together.The nomination ceremony can’t come quick enough, as Louis is ready to call James out for the previous week. 

 

“This is the nomination ceremony,” Louis and Harry stand in front of the other housemates as Louis speaks, “As HOH, I have to nominate two people for eviction. When I turn the key, two faces will appear on the screen and those house guests will be the nominee.”

 

James and Crystal’s face appear. Crystal agreed to be a pawn as she hates James, and it’s no surprise when James rolls his eyes like a child. Louis counts James’ discomfort as a win. They stay in the kitchen talking to random other houseguests, all laughing together and learning information about each other.

 

“This has been one of the best summers of my life,” Louis raises his glass of champagne as they sit around a table eating food that Harry had cooked, “Thank you all for being so nice despite my loud mouth never shutting up. I’m glad I’ve met friends I’ll continue to like outside the house,” He pauses to look over at Harry, “And I’m glad I met the love of my life.” 

 

Everyone collectively makes an “aw” sound, including Harry, who’s grinning brightly up at Louis. The week goes as planned- James doesn’t win the veto, so the nominations remain the same. The day before evictions, Harry and Louis decide to just stay in bed as they know it will probably be a while until they’re in the HOH room again. 

 

“You know, your ass is nice and all,” Harry pauses to frown, but he’s seconds away from giggling, “But it’s kind of disappointing, because it’s missing something.” 

 

“What? What’s it missing?” Louis frowns as well, genuinely hurt by Harry’s words. 

 

“A face buried in it,” Harry’s frown turns into a smirk, and they go from awkward silence to laughing until their ribs hurt within seconds. 

 

Louis is crying he’s laughing so hard, “That was fucking cheesy, you had me actually hurt for a minute.” 

 

“I’m being completely serious. A face buried in it would make it better for all parties involved,” Harry grins just as wide as Louis, yanking the covers over their heads. 

 

They officially become the first members of Big Brother 18 to have sex on camera, despite the blanket being over them Louis knows this is being broadcasted to America, and his mum is probably watching. That doesn’t stop him from enjoying every second, however, and he doesn’t regret it a bit.

 

“If I was gonna be locked in a house with someone for three months, I’m glad it was you,” Harry sighs after they’ve showered, snuggled under the covers, “Still sorry about the other day. We’re good now, though?” 

 

“Of course we’re good, you doofus, you just ate me out. I don’t care how mad I am, that is the key to achieving my forgiveness. We’re completely fine so long as there’s no more yelling.” 

 

They fall asleep peacefully intertwined. Eviction day goes beautifully, James getting evicted 8-1. Everyone is happy, Louis and Harry spend a large portion of the time before the HOH competition making out. Louis doesn’t win the competition as it’s a mental one, but Natalie does so he knows they’re safe. It’s an extremely uneventful week- no plot twists, Harry and Louis remain domestic as usual, and Crystal goes home as she’d been starting drama all week.

 

Louis has stopped trusting Corey. He’s always bragging, and always going around telling secrets and plans to other houseguests. Louis confronts him on it before the HOH competition. 

 

“Listen, Louis, I haven’t liked you since day one,” Corey responds, “You’re a fucking loudmouth who brags about his annoying boyfriend. You’re a disgusting slob, and frankly you’re a slut. You’re practically begging everyone to have their way with you with the way you’re hanging on people all the time.” 

 

“Hey, fuck off,” Harry’d only walked in long enough to hear what Jason said, immediately stepping in front of Louis to protect him, “He’s not a slut, there’s no reason to use insults to get your way.” 

 

“Then control him, Harry, because he kind of is a slut.” Louis is touchy with people because they’re his  _ friends _ , but apparently Corey disagrees, “You’re touching people literally non-stop but then as soon as someone makes any kind of sexual move towards you you act like the fucking victim even though you insinuated it.  I bet you’re the type of person to beg someone for sex and then claim it’s rape just because they were too rough. You’re literally whoring yourself out to everyone here, Louis, and it’s disgusting. Apparently no means yes with you, Louis, so don’t be surprised when that bites you in the ass.”

 

Harry knows getting violent will only get him kicked out of the house, so instead he chooses to lead Louis out, and into one of the bedrooms that no one else is in.

 

Louis can’t find a way to form words, just kind of sits quietly on their bed. They don’t have much time, the HOH competition starts in fifteen minutes, so they just sit on the bed cuddling for a while. 

 

“That was uncalled for,” Harry says quietly when he’s calm, “And I’d like to bash his fucking teeth in, but I know getting evicted and leaving you here isn’t a good option. So we’re going to pretend we didn’t hear that, and kick his ass when we win HOH. Okay? Forget everything he said, baby, you know you’re not a slut. And I know it’s probably triggering for him to talk about rape, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do. We’re just gonna have to get through it together, okay?” 

 

Louis nods, still not able to get words out of his mouth. He wants to talk to Harry, but it’s like his vocal cords have suddenly stopped working and his brain has shut down. There’s no way he’s winning the HOH competition, so when he’s the first one eliminated it’s not a big surprise. It comes down to Harry and Corey, and of course whatever God there is must fucking hate Louis because Corey wins. He all but brags in Louis’ face, asking everyone but him to come see the HOH room. Louis doesn’t want to go, instead he goes straight to the bathroom and vomits out everything he had to eat all day. 

 

Harry doesn’t question it, just slips into the stall behind him and rubs his back while he pukes.

 

“You’re okay,” Harry says softly, keeping the hair out of Louis’ eyes and trying not to throw up himself at the sounds Louis is making, “We’re gonna be fine, we’ll pull through like we always do. There’s no reason to be so upset over it, we’re gonna be okay.”

 

It’s Louis’ turn to do the dishes, but he ignores that and lies down on their bed as he’s gone completely pale to the point where he looks like a stereotypical vampire. Harry’s concerned. But there’s nothing he can do, besides hold a cold washcloth on his head and speak to him quietly. 

 

“I’m really sorry,” Louis speaks for the first time all day when no one is in the room but Harry, “For all of this. I’m acting like a baby. He just really triggered me, and I actually got sick to my stomach I was so mentally sick.” 

 

“Don’t apologize, love, we’re fine. What he said was not cool, but we can’t get violent or we’ll get kicked out. We’ve just gotta wait until the next HOH, so someone can get him out.” 

 

Louis nods, “Yeah. You’re probably right. Sorry you have to baby me so much.” 

 

“It’s okay, Lou, I love you. I’ll do it for you any time you need it.”

 

Harry’s the first one to say I love you. Louis could cry again. They’ve known each other for a month and two weeks now, and despite everything going on Louis is in love and Harry makes him happy again. 

 

“This is the nomination ceremony,” Louis wants to cry as Corey speaks at the nomination ceremony,  “As HOH, I have to nominate two people for eviction. When I turn the key, two faces will appear on the screen and those house guests will be the nominee.”

 

Louis isn’t surprised to see that him and Harry are up on the block together. He grabs Harry’s hand and squeezes it tight, and they share a look that they both know means they’ll be okay.  The veto competition is hard. As Louis hasn’t been feeling mentally the best he’s gotten physically ill, so he throws the competition halfway through as he began to get dizzy. Corey’s already out so he knows whoever wins has his back, and he’s extremely grateful to see that it’s Harry who wins. 

 

“I’m gonna pull you down,” Harry says a couple of minutes before they have to meet in the living room, “I know you don’t want me to, but you deserve it with all the mental stress you’ve been having. I’m confident that I won’t go home, but if I do it’s okay because you’ll win it for me.” 

 

Louis doesn’t bother protesting, just agrees. He’s not shocked when Harry pulls him down, and Noah goes up in his place. It sucks because Noah’s his best friend other than Harry, so he has to choose between his boyfriend and Noah. Everyone likes Noah, so Louis is anxious because he doesn’t know if he can do this without Harry. 

 

“I love you, Harry,” They’re sitting on their bed getting ready for eviction night, and both of their hands are shaking, “I really do, you’re my best friend and soulmate and we’ll find each other if you get evicted tonight.”    
  


“I love you,” Harry repeats, gulping down his nerves and choosing to kiss Louis instead. 

 

His anxiety builds as houseguests go in one by one. He’s the last one to vote, and as soon as he says he wants to evict Noah he feels like bawling. But he’d rather be without Noah than Harry, he just really hopes the house hasn’t betrayed him. 

 

They didn’t. 

 

It’s 5-4, and Noah doesn’t seem surprised. 

 

“I’m so sorry, Noah,” Louis is crying and hugging him, as one of his best friends in the house has his bag in hand and is getting ready to walk out the door. 

 

“I understand, Lou. I’ll see you when you win, okay? You better take me for some expensive ass food when you win that money,” Then they’re laughing and crying at the same time and Noah’s leaving, stepping on Louis’ heart on his way out. 

 

But the sadness is gone as soon as it came, because he realizes he’s still got his boyfriend by his side instead of talking to Julie. 

 

“We’re the dream team,” Louis wipes his eyes, hugging Harry tightly, “No one fucks with us, Harry, I told you I had your back.” 

 

He did, they always have each other’s backs. They vie for the Head of Household right after, and neither of them win but it’s okay because Mia did and she thinks Corey’s a disgusting pig so they’re safe. They’ve had a few anxiety-filled weeks, so they spent a lot of their time together during Mia’s HOH.

 

“It’s gonna be weird not living together when we get out of the house,” They’re in the hot tub soaking, while the other housemates are playing a very intense game of pool.

 

“We might just have to move in together,” Louis scoots closer,feeling his entire body so amenable under Harry’s fingers running through his hair. 

 

Harry hums, “One of us will win$ 500,000, we could put a small portion of that towards a house. We can move in together, be all domestic and shit.” 

 

“Only if you promise me we can get a puppy,” Harry’s not a huge fan of dogs, but the look in Louis’ eyes makes him want to give Louis whatever he wants. 

 

“Of course. A billion puppies.” 

 

They’re extremely domestic.

 

The plan goes well- Corey goes up against Nicole, so when Louis gets the veto the nominations remain the same. It’s 7-0 come eviction night, so of course Corey is evicted. Louis and Harry pretty much own the house. 

  
  


As it gets down to the final seven-  Louis, Harry, Jonathan, Nathan, Natalie, Nicole, Kris and Josh- things start getting split up. Nathan, Natalie, Louis and Harry are in an alliance, and the other three want to tear up the showmances. Nathan and Natalie are the first to go. They just happen to be on the block during a double eviction, so both of them end up leaving, meaning there’s Louis and Harry against the rest of the house. 

 

It’s been 11 weeks, and Louis could not be happier that they’re coming to an end. There’s been countless plot twists and fights that almost broke them up, but Louis and Harry being in the final five is a dream come true for both of them. Even if they don’t win they can say they got this far, which is incredible to Louis. 

 

Days slowly pass. Louis wins HOH so Jonathan goes home, leaving the final four split two against two. 

 

“I’m so excited, Haz,” It’s a few minutes before the last HOH competition, and Louis is pretty much squealing like a teenage girl, “Harry, if you win this, we make it to the final three. Send Josh home and we’ll be in the final three with Kris. Harry, that’s fucking amazing!”

 

They don’t win. Thankfully, Josh is apparently starting up as much drama as possible so the attention is away from them. Kris wins HOH and sends Josh home, as he’s been a prick starting drama the entire week.

 

“The final three, guys,” Louis shakes his head in disbelief- the three of them are sitting at the table that once held sixteen, drinking wine and enjoying one last meal in the Big Brother house, “One of us walks with 500,000, one of us with 50,000, and one of us with nothing.” 

 

“May the best man or woman win,” Louis cheers and they all chug the rest of their drinks while they wait for Julie to call them into the backyard. 

 

They all finish packing their things, looking at the rooms one more time. 

 

“This is where we fell in love, Harry,” Louis says softly as they’re sitting on the edge of their bed, “Our first kiss, our first  _ everything _ was in this house. Promise me we’ll stay together outside the house?” 

 

“I love you, so much,” Harry admits for probably the billionth time, “I hope you win, Lou, I don’t think I wanna. If it comes down to us two, I’ll throw it. Then we can combine our first and second place money and it’ll be  _ amazing _ .” 

 

Louis rests his head on Harry’s shoulder, “Try, though, okay? You deserve to win as much as me, I’m not gonna be mad if I lose ‘cause I know we’ll end up together anyways. I win no matter the outcome of this competition, Harry.”

 

They’d like to say more sappy things but they’re being called into the backyard, where an intense match awaits them. There’s three balls, all sitting over a large pit of black goop. They’re instructed to sit on the balls, and the first person to fall into the pit is eliminated. 

 

“I love you no matter what, Harry,” They kiss one final time, before getting onto their platforms. 

 

It starts raining hard on them and Louis starts slipping, but he slowly gets back up and tries to keep his calm despite his badly his thighs hurt from holding himself up. 

 

One second Louis’ slipping, and the next he hears a splash. But he’s not getting wet. When he opens his eyes he discovers it was Kris that fell, and he doesn’t think he’s ever been so excited in his life. 

 

“The last person to drop will get to go first in the next competition,” Julie clarifies over the speaker, and as it started snowing fake snow on them Louis and Harry  make eye contact.

 

“You can have it,” They share a smile one last time, before Louis lets go and becomes submerged in the black liquid beneath him. 

 

Louis and Harry are final two. Louis wants to cry but there’s no time to, as they’re cleaning off and being rushed into the next competition. 

 

“Have fun, love,” Louis kisses Harry one last time before he goes out into the next competition. 

 

It’s another puzzle competition, an entire wall is empty, and they have to fill it with giant puzzle pieces. But they have to climb their way up with a ladder, and Harry already knows Louis is going to fail as one of his worst fears is heights. It’s a timed competition, and they don’t see each other until both of them are completely finished. 

 

They’re both still soaked in the mysterious black liquid and sweat, but that doesn’t stop them from gripping each other’s hands as they wait for the announcer to reveal who won.

 

“The official winner of Big Brother ‘18 is,” Julie pauses, and Louis knows it’s for dramatic tension but he kind of wants to find her and punch her, “Louis! Congrats, Louis, you are the official winner of this season’s Big Brother!”

 

And Harry isn’t upset, just like he said, instead they’re hugging each other and squealing like little children who just got the christmas presents they wanted. They grab their bags and say goodbye to every room in the house, snogging one last time before they’re rushed out onto a stage, where hundreds of audience members are screaming and Julie Chen is standing there waiting. 

 

Louis can’t express how good it feels to see other people.

 

“So Louis, Harry,” Julie says when they’ve sat down, and everyone is calm, “From day one, you guys have been inseparable side kicks. Week after week, fight after fight, you guys stuck together. What do you think made you so connected?” 

 

“First of all, Harry’s just really hot,” Louis jokes, and the audience laughs, “But in all seriousness, I know I needed Harry the second I saw him. I think signing up for Big Brother I over-estimated my emotional stability, but having Harry in there was the only reason I survived.” 

 

“And I think we clicked a lot because of our locations, if that makes sense? We’re both from England, we both live in Oregon without our parents- we clicked over that kind of stuff, no one really got our British talk.”

 

The crowd laughs again, and Louis squeezes Harry’s hand, “Now you guys said time after time again you’d give up the game for each other, and it ended up happening. Harry, do you regret it now that you’re here in second place?” 

 

“Absolutely not,” Harry doesn’t think about the question before he answers whatsoever, “I’ve known for a long time that Louis was the best thing that ever happened to me, suddenly the game didn’t matter anymore. And that’s what got us almost evicted loads of times, but in the end it was all worth it. I don’t really consider myself a loser, ‘cause at the end of the day I’d rather have Louis than a cash prize. This whole experience has been amazing.” 

 

The crowd makes a loud ‘aw’ noise and Louis is blushing bright red, but he can’t keep his smile off of his face. 

 

“So what do you plan to do with the money, Louis?” 

 

Louis tells the story about Darcy, and also his mum, so some audience members are in tears by the time he’s finished, and Harry’s tearing up beside him even though he’s heard this plan a billion times. 

 

“Harry you’ve got a boyfriend that’s willing to give up everything for the people around him, how lucky do you feel? Is this going to continue out of the Big Brother house?” 

 

“Absolutely,” Harry looks right at Louis, “We’ve got plans, so Salem better watch out. I’m going to marry Louis as soon as I physically can.” 

 

And then everything’s done. The cameras and lights turn off and Julie’s congratulating them. There’s balloons and confetti and screaming fans, but all Louis can think to do in the moment is kiss Harry- kiss the boy he fell in love with three months ago, the boy who saved him.

 

-

 

Five years later.

 

Louis’ mum died of cancer five months after Louis left the Big Brother house, so after he gave some money to Darcy’s foster home he realized he still had quite a bit left to share with his fiancee (The first thing they did was stop by a ring shop, Harry bought Louis a ring with the biggest diamond he could find.) 

 

They moved in together in a big house they bought, and ended up putting the large amount of money they had left into savings. Louis got his puppy and Harry got a cat, and after three years they adopted a little girl named Jamie. 

 

Big Brother was a dream come true, and it lead Harry and Louis to their soulmates- each other. 


End file.
